Beginning of July Check-in
It’s been almost a month since my last check-in and a lot has happened, so this is going to be a long one. I spent the last two weeks of June traveling to China where I spent most of my trip in Beijing with a three day trip to Datong. It was great to be back in China after not being there in over seven years, so I spent a lot of time with family and eating great food. It was also a time where I was able to rest and recharge and come up with some new ideas for painting.
Upon returning from China, I spent a few days sorting out my jet lag and reorienting myself with the projects I have this summer. I’ve got quite a lot going on and much of it requires new paintings and artwork to be made.
What I’ve been working on:
I’ve dropped off my painting for my group show “Ebb & Flow” at the New Museum Los Gatos. The exhibition opens at the end of this week, and we’ll have an opening reception for it next Thursday. I do have to prepare a bit for a short artist talk about the artwork in the exhibition and the collaborative process it entailed to create a piece of artwork with two other artists. It feels a little surreal that the show is opening so soon because the entire project started in the fall/winter of 2024, and it kind of feels like it’s suddenly here. But I’m excited that this project has come to fruition!
I’m well into the 50|50 (50 in 50) project for the Sanchez Center. I picked up my panels from the gallery and prepped them with a couple of coats of gesso with the generous support of my friends the day before I left for my trip to China. It took the three of us a few hours to get it done, so I’m super grateful that I had help. My process for starting my 50 paintings involved collecting all the photos of coastal sunrises/sunsets in my phone into an album and then sorting and editing the 50 most interesting photos and compositions. I was able to do some of this on my flight to China, but I ended up doing the majority of the work during the days I was fighting my jet lag. I started painting on Tuesday of last week, and as of this afternoon, I’ve started my 25th painting. Since I’m working with oils, it takes some time for the paint to dry, so I’m focusing on painting a sketch of each painting by the beginning of next week. That way, each painting has time to dry so I can add additional layers that are more refined and detailed. So no painting is actually finished, but I’m working my way through the initial layer of each painting.
I spent some time before my trip to China working on my skull for Local Color’s 31 Skull annual fundraiser, putting down the initial paint coats and sketching out the design. Since my return from my trip, I’ve incorporated polymer clay as part of the skull, since it’s already a 3D sculpture. I’m new to working with polymer clay, but after spending some time working on it, I was able to accomplish what I had envisioned. Now I just need to put the finishing touches in paint and I’ll be finished the project well in advance of the July 31 due date!
For my commissioned painting, I’ve received feedback on some preferences, so I’m ready to make changes and add in more details. I’m still slowly readjusting myself to longer studio hours (I was only able to focus and sit in my studio for about 2 hours the first day back, and I most recently have been able to sit for 4), so I’m hoping to find time this week to reacquaint myself with the painting.
What’s upcoming:
The day before I left for my trip, I found out that I won two small mural projects in Oakland’s Chinatown. I’m still waiting on some details regarding the specific locations of the murals and scheduling, but those murals will be completed by the end of September. I’m excited to work on these since I’ve been trying to get more public artwork projects.
In line with getting more public artwork projects, I’ve been working with a fellow artist friend on some mural proposals that have all fallen through, but she was able to commission a mural at a local elementary school that she asked me to assist on the installation. The painting will occur during the second half of July, so I’ve scheduled out some full days dedicated to working on the mural.
Finally, I also will be participating in Filoli Historic Garden’s Art Walk this year as a vendor. Last year, I did a live painting demonstration during the garden’s Art Walk on Saturday. This year is a bit of an upgrade; I’ll be there both Saturday and Sunday with the opportunity to showcase and sell my artwork. The Art Walk is at the end of the month. Thankfully, I feel like I have enough artwork to showcase, so no additional painting has to be done before the show.
With so much happening this month, I applied to my last project that requires additional work this weekend. In order to balance all that I have going on right now, I’m limiting the opportunities that I apply to exhibitions for already existing work. I was accepted into a juried show that will be presented at the New Museum Los Gatos and will open later in the year, and I’m going to continue to submit my work into similar shows.
I do feel like I’m in a serious growth phase in terms of more recognition for my work and having more opportunities to share my art with new audiences. It’s been a little overwhelming and really exciting, but sometimes I wish I had more time to focus on just painting and other projects that don’t have looming deadlines. I hope to find some time to go through the photos I took during my trip to China; I already have two painting ideas inspired by some everyday scenes in Beijing, and I would like to create a couple of paintings from my time there. But I think it’s a classic case of wanting what you don’t have. Earlier this year, I do remember feeling like I was languishing a little bit with no deadlines and a lot of open-ended time to work on self-directed projects, which now I’m complaining about missing. I guess it’s what it means to be human. Overall, I’m truly happy and grateful for all of these opportunities and experiences. My art career has really grown quickly, and I’m glad that I get to do this everyday. And a big thank you to you all for your support as you’ve followed along the entire journey so far!
